Dresser for boots or shoes



(No Model.) l

S.- A. RICHARDS.

. DRESSBR'FORBOQTS 0R SHOES. f

"PatentedjO'oL '31, 1893.

/NVENTOH- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE0 STEPHEN A. RICHARDS, OF FRESNO, CALIFORNIA.

DRESSER FOR BOOTS OR SHOES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 507,845, dated October 31, 1893.

` Application filed December 80, 1892. Serial No. 456,804. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, STEPHEN A. RICHARDS, of Fresno, in the county of Fresno and State of California, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Dressers for Boots or:

Shoes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.'r

This invention consists in a self-adjusting device for the interior of boots or shoes, to be used in what is termed dressing boots and shoes for show windows or other display purposes; and it has for its more particular object or purpose the giving of the boot or shoe the same appearance as it would have when the human foot is in it, substantially as hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both the figures.

Figure l represents a central longitudinal and vertical section of my improved boot and shoe dresser or filling device applied to a boot or shoe; and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the dresser removed.

This dresser or boot and shoe displaying device, is made with a base forming a bottom or foundation A, of a shape corresponding to that of the last on which the boot or shoe was made, for the purpose of holding the boot or shoe down in place. Combined with or lmounted on or over this base A are shapers or formers B, C, one in front of the other and extending upward, thevone B from or beyond the part which corresponds to the instep b of the boot D, and up the front portion of the ankle c of the latter, and the other extending up, when in place, the heel and back portion of the ankle. These formers B, C, are preferably made of plates of varying trough shape transversely, with their convex surfaces fashioned to conform respectively to the instep and front portion of the ankle and heel and backpart of the ankle of the boot, to hold said instep and adjacent parts out in shape, so as to give the boot or shoe the same appearance as if the human foot were in it. To effect this, the front shaper or former B is connected at the part which corresponds to the instep with the base A by a spring E, and the front former B further connected above with the back former by a spring F, at the part which corresponds to the ankle, so as to support both the front and back crimped portions of the boot or shoe.

When the device is being inserted in the boot or shoe the shaper or former B will be pressed toward the rear Shaper C, thus compressing the springs E F, and after the device has been introduced into the shoe the springs tend to force the several parts of the device apart and fill out the shoe giving it the appearance of having a human foot within it. The instep and ankle portions of the shoe will have the natural curved appearance and not present the clumsy knotty look that we so often notice in shoes in store windows which are filled with paper or excelsion This makes the dresser or boot or shoe displaying device self-adjusting to any width of boot or shoe of the same length at its bottom. The cord d which extends through Ithe spring F prevents it from sagging and also limits the distance that the plates B and C may be moved apart by the spring.

By making the formers B and C of plates bent as described, the same are more readily shaped to conform and adjust themselves to the parts of the boot or shoe they are designed to press against, and ample room is afforded for the springs which make these formers self-adjusting.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A self-adjusting dresser or displaying device for boots and shoes, adapted to fit within the boot or shoe and composed of a base piece forming a bottom or foundation corresponding in shape to the base of the last on which the boot or shoe was made, upper separate front and back Shapers or formers constructed respectively to conform the one on its exterior to the instep and front portion of the ankle, and the other to the heel and back portion of the ankle, and springs connecting said formers with each other and with the base piece or foundation, for operation together, substantially as specified.

2. In a self-adjusting dresser or displaying 5 device for boots or shoes, the combination, with the base or foundation A, of the convex Shapers or formera B C, made of plates bent to support the instep and front and rear crimped portions of :L boot or shoe, and the springs E F connectingr said forlners with each 1o other and with the base A, essentially as shown and described.

STEPHEN A. RICHARDS. XTitnesses:

GUY WINDREW, H. O. BUKER. 

